MDPH Exports grows by 100%+ in the Pandemic year
February 16, 2022Ankit Agrawal, Director & Partner, MDPH, interviewed by The Financial Express
February 16, 2022When you believe you can, you can! This best describes the journey of Mr. Prakash Agrawal, who started as a salesman and is now the man behind a Rs 400 crore turnover company!
Enadu, the largest circulated Telugu-language daily newspaper of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, published the journey of Mr. Prakash Agrawal in their coverage of “Inspirational Business Leaders In India”. The article was published on 15 November 2021.
Working as a salesman in a cloth shop, attending customers, folding clothes and repeating the same process was hard but not hard enough to break Mr. Agrawal’s determination and faith in himself. After quitting this job for a better salary and life, he started selling soaps, detergents and hair oil but destiny had something else for him. Things didn’t go as he expected and the income wasn’t enough to feed the family.
Upon seeing this, his mother advised him to start supplying Agarbattis as there was a great demand for it. But Mr.Agrawal was determined to start from scratch; make them and sell them. With faith in his heart, he borrowed 5 Lacs from relatives and started making Agarbattis with his two brothers in a small hut in their backyard. And soon registered themselves as ‘Mysore Deep Perfumery House’ with a brand ‘Poorab Paschim Uttar Daskhin’.
Initially, shopkeepers weren’t ready to buy since the Agarbattis were not made in Bengaluru or Chennai. Dejected Prakash didn’t give up. Requested them to use and check. It took five to six years for him to establish himself in the market by making popular scented Agarbattis and selling them. For his factory, he rented a new building. This didn’t stop him here. He invented Zed Black, which became an instant hit and increased their sales.
They say success doesn’t come easy and the same happened with Mr. Agrawal. A fire accident turned the factory and his years of work into ashes. But Mr. Agrawal wasn’t ready to give up. He rebuilt everything by taking loans and the rest of the story speaks for itself. Now, Zed Black is one of the largest and leading Agarbatti brands in India. Today, 3 crore Agarbattis are produced per day, employing 3000 people in his 5 factories. With one of the biggest factories in the world and a 400 crore turnover, Zed Black is exporting to more than 41 countries.
A story like this one instils in millions of people the importance of having determination, faith, integrity, and a strong sense of commitment to live our dream!